Advocates’ report touts renewable-energy impact

The renewable-fuels industry in Colorado drives $2.7 billion of economic output, supports 10,619 jobs and $642.2 million in wages, and generates $62.3 million in state tax revenue each year, according to a report issued Friday by a coalition of organizations promoting renewable energy.

The Washington, D.C.-based Fuels America coalition said the report, compiled by John Dunham & Associates, found that renewable fuels represent nearly 10 percent of the U.S. fuel supply and have helped reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil to the lowest level in years. The analysis takes into account the entire supply chain for renewable fuels and quantifies the impact to the economy.

Nationally, according to the report, the industry supports 852,000 jobs and $46 billion in wages.

Signed into law by President George W. Bush but opposed by the oil industry, the Renewable Fuels Standard calls for the use of American-grown renewable fuels in our transportation fuel supply. The oil industry is urging Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to repeal or weaken the RFS so that renewable fuels do not further reduce oil industry market share.

The complete report, with a state-by-state breakdown of renewables’ economic impact, is online at fuelsamerica.org.